Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
March 3 2012
Insulting Armenianness
by Mustafa Akyol
A bizarre rally took place in Istanbul last weekend. The declared
purpose was to commemorate the 20th anniversary the Khojaly Massacre,
the most tragic episode from the Azeri-Armenian war of 1988-1994. Some
600 Azeri civilians, including many children and even babies, were
ruthlessly slaughtered by Armenian forces in the village of Khojaly,
leaving behind a painful memory.
In other words, it was only right for thousands of Turks to gather in
the Taksim Square, the heart of Istanbul, to show that they still
remembered the victims of Khojaly. It was also right for them to
express solidarity with hundreds of thousands of Azeri refugees, whose
homes have been under Armenian occupation since 1992.
But it was not right to turn the rally into an ugly outburst of hatred
against Armenians, which happened to be the case.
In fact, the problem was evident even in the posters posted all around
Istanbul in the week before the rally. These big signs invited people
to Taksim not only to remember the victims of Khojaly, but also `say
no to the Armenian lie.’ And the `Armenian lie’ was nothing other than
the way the Armenians define the Great Catastrophe of 1915: genocide.
In other words, the fact that some Armenians slaughtered Azeris in
1992 was implied as evidence that no Turk (and Kurd) had slaughtered
any Armenian in 1915. (Who said chauvinists are sensible?)
Even worse themes appeared at the rally. Some of the protestors
carried a sign which bluntly read, `You are all Armenians, you are all
bastards.’ Clearly, this was a response to the anti-fascist Turks who
marched with the slogan, `We are all Armenians,’ at the funeral of
Hrant Dink.
Worse, a group of ultra-right wing youngsters put on white berets,
implicitly giving the message, `We are all Ogün Samasts.’ (Ogün Samast
was the 17-year-old assassin of Hrant Dink, and the white beret he
wore during the murder has become nationally notorious). Some of these
militants wanted to march towards the offices of Agos, the Armenian
daily whose editor was none other than Hrant Dink, but, luckily, were
blocked by the police.
In short, Turkish fascism of the crudest sort co-opted the Khojaly rally.
But here is the worst part: The interior minister of the Justice and
Development (AKP) government, Ä°dris Naim Å?ahin, also joined the rally.
He gave an inane speech about how the 21st century will supposedly be
a `Turkish century,’ and, most crucially, he said nothing to the
fascists around him whose posters insulted all Armenians by calling
them `bastards.’
To his credit, foreign minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu later criticized those
posters, calling them, at least, `unacceptable.’ But if DavutoÄ?lu
represents the bright side of the AKP, Ä°dris Naim Å?ahin represents a
darker side, which has been apparent in many scandalous comments he
has made in the past year. (And appointing this gentleman, who has
zero clue about democracy and freedom, to his cabinet is one of the
greatest mistakes of Prime Minister ErdoÄ?an.)
The AKP, apparently, is following a policy of covering all bases,
i.e., appealing to all possible voters including the far-right. This
is understandable to a degree, but not to the degree that Ä°dris Naim
Å?ahin represents. A more civilized and pluralist Turkish nationalism
is possible, and that is what Turkey needs to hear from the AKP.
Footnote: Kudos to the members of the French Constitutional Council
for repelling President Sarkozy’s attack on freedom of speech. They
have proven that `liberté’ is not dead in France.
March/03/2012
From: A. Papazian